Cote d’Ivoire reached the quarter-finals of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations as Group B winners after beating Tanzania 2-1 in Casablanca.
Nsira Ouedraogo opened the scoring shortly before half-time before Ines Konan doubled the Lady Elephants’ advantage from the penalty spot in the second half.
Diana Msewa pulled one back for Tanzania with a penalty in the ninth minute of stoppage time, but the Twiga Stars ran out of time as they searched for an equaliser.
The result gave Cote d’Ivoire seven points from their three group matches and confirmed an unbeaten return to the continental tournament, 12 years after their previous appearance.
South Africa claimed the other qualifying place from Group B by beating Burkina Faso 1-0. Tanzania and Burkina Faso both finished on three points but were eliminated.
Cote d’Ivoire’s return has quickly become one of the stories of the tournament in Morocco. They began with a 4-1 victory against Burkina Faso, drew 2-2 with South Africa and then secured top spot with victory over Tanzania.
The Lady Elephants scored eight goals across the group stage and showed both attacking quality and composure in the decisive moments of their final match.
Tanzania went into Tuesday’s fixture knowing victory would be enough to take them into the last eight. However, they were without Hasnath Ubamba, who was suspended after being sent off in their previous game against Burkina Faso.
The Twiga Stars had already made history during the competition by recording their first ever WAFCON victory, defeating South Africa. Their hopes of building on that result were tested by a Cote d’Ivoire team that proved more clinical when chances arrived.
The first half looked set to finish without a goal until Cote d’Ivoire broke through in the 44th minute. Konan delivered the final pass and Ouedraogo took the opportunity to put coach Reynald Pedros’ side in front before the interval.
Tanzania made changes after the restart as they tried to find a way back into the match. Cote d’Ivoire remained well organised, though, and extended their lead in the 68th minute.
Konan assumed responsibility for a penalty and converted it confidently to make the score 2-0. It was another important contribution from the forward, who had already played a central role in Cote d’Ivoire’s attacking performances during the group stage.
Facing elimination, Tanzania continued to press in the closing stages. Their persistence was rewarded when Msewa scored from the spot in the ninth minute of added time.
The goal ensured Tanzania had found the net in each of their three group matches, but the late timing left them with no realistic chance of completing a comeback before the final whistle.
Their departure brings both disappointment and encouragement. Tanzania leave having secured their first WAFCON win and demonstrated that they can compete at this level, but they will regret not producing the result required to advance.
They also miss the chance to become only the second East African nation to reach the tournament’s knockout stage.
For Cote d’Ivoire, the immediate focus is now the quarter-finals. After a 12-year absence, the Lady Elephants have returned to the competition unbeaten, with two wins, one draw and eight goals scored.
South Africa will accompany them into the last eight, while Tanzania and Burkina Faso’s campaigns end after both sides collected three points.
